


What Else Were You Doing Last Night?

by gxldenskyes



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, School Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26009005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldenskyes/pseuds/gxldenskyes
Summary: After getting away from the Krillitane, the Doctor and Sarah Jane have a quiet chat.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler (onesided), Tenth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	What Else Were You Doing Last Night?

Sarah Jane parked the car outside a nearby park. The Doctor looked out the windshield, making sure the Krillitanes hadn’t followed them.

“Are we safe here?” Rose asked.

“Yes.” The Doctor replied, “We better stay here until tomorrow. What time is it now?”

“Half ten.” Sarah Jane replied as she looked at her watch.

“Right,” The Doctor nodded, “We might as well get some sleep then.”

“Sarah Jane, could you turn the radio up please?” Mickey asked, “Music helps me sleep.”

“Uh, yeah.” Sarah Jane nodded, turning up the radio a little, “That loud enough for you?”

“Perfect, thanks.” Mickey replied before relaxing back into the car seat.

They were quiet as they all relaxed. Sarah Jane looked into the rear view mirror and noticed Rose falling asleep behind her. Mickey cuddled into her, holding onto her arm like she was a cuddly toy. Rose crossed her arms and frowned in her sleep, clearly trying to move away from him. Sarah Jane rested her head on her hand as she watched a small bird nearby. The Doctor noticed Rose and Mickey asleep behind them and sighed to himself. He then noticed Sarah Jane was still awake.

“You should get some rest too.” The Doctor said quietly.

“I’m alright.” Sarah Jane replied, “I’d rather stay alert.”

“You’re not going to be very alert if you’re tired.”

“Well, I’m used to being tired so I’ll be fine.”

“You work too hard, Sarah.”

“I don’t work that hard.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “I just avoid sleeping sometimes.”

“Why would you do that?” The Doctor asked.

“Odd for you to ask that.”

“How come?”

“You never sleep.”

“I’m a Time Lord.” The Doctor shrugged, “I don’t need to sleep. But you do.”

“I haven’t got much sleep since you left.” Sarah Jane turned to him. 

The Doctor understood.

“I see.” The Doctor nodded, “You’ve had nightmares?”

“You could say that.” Sarah Jane scoffed, “Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, the lot. I see them all. And I see you in them too.”

“What happens in them?” The Doctor asked.

Sarah Jane turned back to face forward. She sighed, pushing her hair out of her face as she thought about the many nightmares she had experienced over the years. Usually they were all different but there was always a reoccurring one.

“There’s one where you come back for me but then aliens, usually Daleks, invade Earth. They get to us and it goes along like we are going to defeat them but then they… they kill you and you don’t regenerate. You just… die.” Sarah Jane sighed. She felt her eyes glass over but she blinked through it, not wanting to worry him. She looked to him as he faced forward, “That’s the one that always comes back to me.”

The Doctor said nothing to her as he thought about her dream. It seemed to be a little reflective of how the Time War had gone. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing to himself before he brought himself back to reality and didn’t want to face the images in his brain. He felt so guilty for what happened to Sarah Jane. He didn’t realise how much he had impacted her life in a negative sense. He left her behind in the wrong place, she spent her whole life waiting for him to come back, he played a part in her nightmares and trauma.

“I’m sorry.” He said finally.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “It was no one’s fault.”

The Doctor looked down at his fingers, fiddling with a button on his coat. He sighed, deep in his thoughts.

“Doctor?” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Yeah?” He looked up to her.

“Earlier, when you said ‘everyone died’,” Sarah Jane said as she noticed the Doctor tense up slightly, “What did you mean by that?”

The Doctor was quiet for a moment as he looked out the windshield once more. He cleared his throat as he thought about everything he had been through since he saw Sarah Jane last. Sarah Jane was convinced he was not going to say anything but finally, he did.

“There was a war.” The Doctor explained, “The Time War. It was between the Daleks and Time Lords and I… I destroyed them all.” Sarah Jane tried not to gasp, “There were still some Daleks left but the Time Lords, Gallifrey… so many other worlds… it’s all gone.”

“I’m sorry.” Sarah Jane said quietly, resting her hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes when he felt her hand on his shoulder. The Doctor tried to push the tears back, not only thinking of the guilt he felt for the Time War but for the guilt for Sarah Jane too.

“There was nothing I could have done.” He shook his head. The Doctor then turned to her and tried a smile, “I’m okay though. I’ve got Rose and Mickey and the TARDIS. I’m alright.”

“When did you meet Rose?” Sarah Jane asked. She felt the jealousy deep in her chest once more but tried to hide it.

“Last year. I blew up her shop.” The Doctor chuckled. He then softened, “She was the first person I travelled with after the Time War.”

“She means a lot to you then?” She asked.

“Well, of course. You all mean a lot to me.” He turned to her, “What about you then? What have you been up to?”

Sarah Jane thought back to recent events. It had only been a few weeks ago since she had been on the Dauntless. So much had happened back then and she was still suffering the aftermath of it. She couldn’t remember how they got back to Earth and how they even survived but she was here and she was so grateful. Though the Doctor had opened up to her, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to open up to him about this. Not yet.

“Just the usual. Working, chasing stories. I was sort of on the run for a while, not my fault.” Sarah Jane explained, “My Aunt Lavinia passed away a couple of years ago too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The Doctor said. He knew how close the two were and he imagined how much of an impact that loss would have had for Sarah Jane. He expected her to tell him more but she didn’t, “How old was she?”

“Oh, she was in her eighties. She left me pretty much everything. I bought a house in Ealing not long after. It was nice to have a home and actually relax in it but it doesn’t bring her back.”

“I know what you mean.”

The two chuckled sadly. Sarah Jane leaned against the window, her hand in her hair once more. They watched the little birds on the grass in front of the car quietly, the slow Ne-Yo song on the radio filling the silence in the car.

“I have missed you, Sarah.” The Doctor turned to her, “More than you can imagine. I missed you the most.”

“You forgot about me.” Sarah Jane shook her head, “Don’t tell me you didn’t.”

“But I didn’t. I never forgot about you.” He asked.

“Rose said it herself, Doctor.” Sarah Jane turned to him. He noticed her eyes grow misty and both his hearts dropped, “You didn’t mention me once. You can admit you forgot me.”

“I wanted to come back for you. I meant to come back for you, I swear.” The Doctor sat forward as he faced her, “I kept meaning to come back for you but then so much got in the way.” He went to cup her cheek, his fingers intertwining in her hair, “How could I ever forget you? You’re my Sarah Jane.”

Sarah Jane studied his face as she thought about what he said. The feel of his slightly cold hand against her skin brought her back to when they travelled together. They were quiet, the Doctor stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“I really forgot how beautiful you are.” The Doctor said softly.

“Like I said, I got old.” Sarah Jane shrugged, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

“So did I.” The Doctor replied.

“How old are you now?”

“Ooh, nine hundred.”

“Nine hundred?” Sarah Jane raised her brows, “So we’ve known each other for over two hundred years?”

“We have.” He grinned, bringing his hand down from her cheek as he leaned against his armrest, “You don’t know how happy I am to see you, Sarah. As soon as I saw you walk into that staff room, I was so glad to see you. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see someone in all my life.”

“Well, I’m glad you were just as happy as I was.” Sarah Jane shrugged, “Am. As happy as I am.”

The Doctor chuckled. He looked back to Mickey and Rose as they slept. He looked back to Sarah Jane and smiled.

“It’s a shame we can’t go back to yours.” He said quietly, “We would have been a lot more comfortable.”

“Well, they would be able to track us down.” Sarah Jane replied, “It wouldn’t be wise.”

“Nope.” The Doctor shook his head, “No, it wouldn’t.”

They studied one another for a moment but they felt the pull towards another growing stronger. Softly, the Doctor pressed his lips against Sarah Jane’s. He rested his hand on the base of her neck, his fingers in her hair once more. Sarah Jane sighed into the kiss, surprised by how he kissed the same as he did all those years ago. But it didn’t feel right? It felt like a betrayal, but not on her part.

Sarah Jane pushed the Doctor back gently, her eyes still closed as she breathed heavily. The Doctor frowned, rubbing his lips together as he looked at her. His two hearts pounded in his chest against her hand.

“What’s wrong?” The Doctor asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

“Rose.” Sarah Jane said softly, making sure she didn’t wake Rose or Mickey up.

“What about Rose?” The Doctor frowned.

“Oh, come on, Doctor.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes, taking her hand away from his chest, “Don’t act stupid. It’s so obvious.”

“What?”

“That she loves you and you love her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can see it in the way she looks at you, the way you look at her. You used to look at me like that. I even heard Mickey call Rose and I ‘the missus and the ex.’ I can see what’s going on here.”

“Do you think I would kiss you if I felt that way about Rose?” The Doctor asked, taking her hand again as Sarah Jane turned away, “Sarah Jane, look at me. Sarah?” Sarah Jane finally turned back to him, “Rose is very special to me but…”

“But what?” Sarah Jane asked, raising her brow as she grew a little impatient.

“She’s not you.” The Doctor said with a sigh. He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he looked down to her hand in his, “She’s not you. None of them were.”

Sarah Jane was silent as she looked at him. He sighed heavily, his thumb stroking over her knuckles and one of the rings he remembered her wearing when they travelled together. Finally, the Doctor looked up at her again.

“I only ever wanted you.” The Doctor said softly.

Sarah Jane studied his face for a moment and the Doctor couldn’t read her expression. He half expected her to kick him out of the car and drive off but was surprised when she cupped his face and kissed him again. He held onto her arm, kissing her as lovingly and passionately as she kissed him.

Rose shuffled in her seat again when she opened her eyes to the Doctor and Sarah Jane kissing in the front. Her stomach dropped. She had heard the conversation they were having when she was asleep but if Rose was going to be honest, she thought she had been dreaming. Oh, how wrong she was!

Rose was thankful that Mickey wasn’t awake because she knew he probably would have said “I told you so!” or climbed out the car to do his “I was right” dance for her. Rose didn’t know what to do but she knew she couldn't make it known she was awake. To be honest, she wanted the Earth to swallow her up or one of those big bat things to appear. Anything to just get that image out of her head.

Mickey was right though. He was just like every other bloke.


End file.
